Legends of Awesomeness – Mama Told Me not to Kung Fu

When Po (Mick Wingert) learns that Crane‘s (Amir Talai) overprotective mother (Laraine Newman) who hates Kung Fu is on her way to the Valley of Peace he convinces Shifu (Fred Tatasciore) and the Furious Five to agree to go along with the lies Crane has been telling over the years to hide his love for Kung Fu. The Five transform the Jade Temple into the inn which Crane told his mother he owns, with his friends acting as his employees, and Shifu cast as the simpleton who cleans the toilets.

Aside from keep the charade going as long as possible, the Kung Fu masters must also deal with the arrival of Heilang (Maurice LaMarche) and the Lin Kuei wolves who have come to wreck havoc and steal the Shadow Crowns, ancient artifacts the clan once owned which grant the wearers invisibility.

Doing to battle their invisible enemy while acting as if they are playing a game of pretend Kung Fu with simple Shifu, the group are all quickly dispatched. Finally, with his mother threatened, Crane leaps into action, defeats the entire gang, and earns his mother’s acceptance who admits her son is far less fragile than she believed.

The lengths his friends go to in order to try and keep Crane’s lie going make “Mama Told Me not to Kung Fu” are quite fun. Shifu’s reactions alone at the ridiculousness of the situation and the role he finds himself in are worth seeing. The episode also marks the return of the Lin Kuei, one of the show’s better enemies, and gives Crane and opportunity to show off his skill and finally earn his mother’s respect.